Paint Colors Archives - Satori Design for Living

Our Entryway Design Plan

Apr

2013

I mentioned at the beginning of April that I ordered a new blue ombre rug for our entryway. It finally arrived, and I’m feeling relieved because the bold color is exactly what I wanted to wake up the space. Like many makeover projects, the rug is only the jumping off point. Sometimes new accessories are all you need to refresh a space, but in this case, our entryway design plan requires a whole lot more to create a welcoming first impression.

If all goes well in regards to timeframe and budget, these are the steps I believe we need to take in order to give our entryway an updated look:

Remove the linoleum and replace with tile.

From the moment we moved into this home I have despised the flooring. Not only is it lifting, but the pattern and colors are terrible. I don’t care how beautiful an area rug is, it’s never going to camouflage this ugliness.

Although I haven’t finalized the tile, I’m leaning towards a charcoal slate floor.

Showhome Tour {A Few Highlights}

Apr

2013

11 Comments

Although we planned on making our way to visit our new baby niece this weekend, freezing rain forced us to stay fairly close to home. I was itching to get out of the house for a bit, so my husband and I decided to check out a few showhomes we hadn’t been through yet in our area. Although there are few homes I walk through that I absolutely fall in love with, I often find there are parts of homes or certain features that give me ideas for client projects, our current home, as well as the one we plan on building within the next couple years.

The first home we visited had great flow, and we particularly liked how open the kitchen, breakfast area, and living room were to each other. It would be the perfect space for entertaining. We also liked how the stools tucked neatly under the island.

The warm color palette was also appealing for the snowy/rainy day we were having. Although I tend to like light and airy spaces, they can feel cold in our Canadian climate. Achieving the perfect balance can be tricky.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Decorating, Inspiration Tagged With: Backsplash, Bathroom, Ceiling Finishes, Dressing Room, Kitchen, Lighting, Living Room, Paint Colors, Showhome

Front Door Paint Colors and Adding Curb Appeal {Reader Question}

Mar

2013

4 Comments

It’s Friday! Let’s get to another reader question from Satori’s Facebook page, shall we? Although our weather has dipped down again today (please, please let this be the end!), it’s time to start talking about freshening our exteriors with outdoor paint and adding more curb appeal. I received photos of two different houses with two very different looks asking many of the same design questions. Today I’m starting with Nicole’s two-story suburban home.

Desperately Need Curb Appeal!

Hello Shauna! I have a major design block. One of the things we want to work on this year is our (lack of) curb appeal. Specifically at the front door. We may buy a new one, we may just paint this one out, but…I cannot for the life of me pick out a color that works. It’s south facing, direct sun all day long. The door already gets incredibly hot so we don’t think black or super dark would be great. Plus fading issues?

I printed out a few pics of the house and cut out the front door. We stuck hundreds of paint chips behind it trying to see what would work. I really don’t want to match the trim color as that seems to be what everyone else in our neighborhood has done. Boring! So far the leading choice is in the purple family, but my hubby isn’t thrilled with it.

We would also like to add window boxes or jazz up the front garden. Any and all suggestions would be incredibly welcome!!

Huge fan, Nicole (Scrap Me Baby)

After emailing Nicole for a bit more information, I found out her style is fairly classic, but she isn’t afraid of color. Landscaping is very selective, with only one purple-toned tree in the front yard. Here are the photos she sent me (she reassures me the siding is cream, not light grey as it appears on my screen).

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Filed Under: Gardening & Outdoor Tagged With: Curb Appeal, Paint Colors, Plants & Flowers, Reader Question

Bang for Your Buck Kitchen Updates {Reader Question}

Jan

2013

4 Comments

Last week I opened up the Satori Facebook wall to reader questions and was pleasantly surprised at how many were posted or sent in. Unfortunately I won’t be able to answer all of the questions today, but I will try my best to address each topic in upcoming blog posts.

To kick things off, I’m starting with the first question sent in by Amber.

Need Kitchen Help!

Shauna, I’m crossing my fingers you choose my question to answer as I’m really stuck on what to do. We recently bought our first house in Calgary and our kitchen desperately needs a makeover. It’s currently stuck in an 80′s time warp with its dark wood cabinets and fluorescent lighting. Eventually we want to do a complete overhaul, but need to save up for a year or two before that happens. We’d appreciate any recommendations to make our kitchen look a little better spending no more than $500. I just cannot fathom living with how it is right now for much longer.

Thank you, Amber

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Decorating Tagged With: Hardware, Kitchen, Lighting, Paint Colors, Reader Question

Favorite Paint Colors {My Picks + A Series Recap}

Oct

2012

7 Comments

Back in August, I invited a few of my favorite design bloggers to share some of their favorite paint colors. Perhaps you’ll remember the eye-catching color of Ashley’s playhouse or John and Sherry’s beautiful bedroom? Those turned out to be some of my most popular posts ever, telling me that paint is a hot topic. It really didn’t surprise me, since paint consultations are amongst the most requested services within my business, and I’m often asked about the latest trends in paint colors. Just yesterday, I was picking up items from the dry cleaners and somehow the conversation led to paint!

When I wrote those posts, I told you I had a list of my own paint front-runners that I’d share with you. Some of them are paint colors I’ve used within our home and others are suggestions for clients that I couldn’t be happier with. It’s always important to keep in mind that, although these are tried and true colors, they don’t work in every situation. Lighting, both natural and artificial, flooring, and other room elements can greatly affect how a color appears on a wall. It’s important to go through a paint selection process to come up with the best color for your space.

My current top pick for an all-over, use almost anywhere neutral is Cashmere, a beautiful soft grey from the Sarah Richardson Collection for Para. We painted most of our basement this color and I love how light and airy it makes the space feel, while providing an element of coziness with it’s warmer undertone. I’m planning on carrying this color up onto the main floor.

Front Porch Reveal + New Door Color

Sep

2012

14 Comments

A couple weeks ago, I posed the question, “Which color I should paint my front door?” and you definitely gave your input. The top response was blue, with black and yellow being close contenders. Basically it was a mixed bag, which meant I probably couldn’t go wrong with any of my considerations. To refresh your memory, this is what our front door and porch looked like before.

As I always do when selecting paint colors, I held my fan deck up in the location and began flagging colors that stood out to me. I then taped the larger swatches from my Benjamin Moore color kit to the door and stood back. It didn’t take long for certain colors to jump out, and I quickly had it narrowed down to (you guessed it) blue, yellow and black!

Yellow was the next color I eliminated as an option. Our house faces southwest and yellow was far too bright with the sun shining on it. I could also tell by my husband’s and son’s reactions that it wasn’t their favorite color (although they usually defer to me when it comes to decorating decisions). Blue and black, however, were capturing my attention equally, and I decided to sleep on it (all this over a door color!).

The next day, I considered our landscaping colors and it made my decision much easier. Not only do we have a large tree with plum foliage on it throughout the summer, but most of the perennials in our front yard have purple or yellow blooms. I felt that adding blue would just be too much color. In addition, I’ve always loved the sophisticated and classic look of a black door. After looking at several blacks, I decided on Benjamin Moore’s Wrought Iron. It has a blue undertone, which seems to complement our siding and trim.

Front Porch Freshening + I Need Your Help

Sep

2012

12 Comments

How was your long weekend? Although we did take some time to enjoy ourselves, most of our time was spent finishing outdoor projects before it gets too cold. Since our basement renovation took longer than anticipated (you know big projects always do), I held off staining our front porch. With trades coming in and out over the past few months, our front door, spindles and porch floor saw their share of dings and marks. Now that we’re on to the furnishing and decorating phase of the basement (more on that later this week), I felt it was safe to give the porch a little TLC.

Here’s what the porch looked like last week after I started to fill holes and cracks with an indoor/outdoor spackle. (And, no, our house isn’t pink. It’s just the way the light is bouncing off the light grey siding.)

See how the dark grey has faded over time and how dull everything looks. Not the best first impression I want to make! A good lesson to see what’s wrong with any space is to take a photo. I’ve always thought the light fixture looked small and it’s blatantly obvious in this photo (something to change out down the road). [Read more...]

Filed Under: Gardening & Outdoor, Our Home Projects Tagged With: Curb Appeal, Front Porch Decorating, Paint Colors, Staining

We’re Talking Paint Colors {Bloggers’ Faves Part Two}

Aug

2012

12 Comments

While we’re on the topic of favorite paint colors, I have to mention that Pottery Barn has its newest line up of Benjamin Moore paint colors for fall 2012. I think they’ve put together one of the best collections, and I particularly love the selection of blues. How about you?

{via Pottery Barn}

Yesterday, Ashley and Shannon shared some of their best-loved paint colors. To carry on with the theme, I’m thrilled to welcome three more fantastic design bloggers to add to the list.

Sherry {Young House Love}

Hola everyone. Sherry here, from Young House Love. I had so much fun shouting out three colors that I’m loving right now for Shauna’s little roundup, so here are my current (although they pretty much change every day) faves… (All by Benjamin Moore)

Rockport Gray is an awesome moody gray tone with some mocha in it. I love how it’s both warm and cool and since it’s darker than the more airy greige tones, it feels more smoky and sophisticated – and really pops with white trim. We used it in our bedroom.